Use this White Paper for direction and to differentiate from the competition.

1. What ARE the questions you ask and how do you develop your questions?
There are many questions that are generic in nature or that can be easily customized for
your specific meeting. You can start by generating a question database and/or use
questions below. Here are some penetrating and powerful sales questions that will help
you determine the true needs of your customer/prospect.
The higher up in an organization you sell, the more important it is to ask these types of
questions simply because executives are used to asking—and answering—tough
questions.
• What goals are you striving to achieve this quarter?
• How do those targets compare to last year’s results?
• What, if anything, is preventing you from achieving these goals?
• In addition you can create a list of “What We Don’t Know” and use that to
generate questions.
However, do NOT start your conversation with questions like this. You have to earn the
right to ask them, especially if you do not have an established relationship. It is important
to demonstrate your expertise, industry knowledge, and understanding of your
customer’s/prospect’s business and/or company. By doing your homework before the
meeting. Research, prepare, and plan for your meeting.
Are you targeting a certain company? Sign up for Google News Alerts, follow them on
Twitter, and/or follow them on LinkedIn. There is a good chance you may come across
information that that can trigger a great question.
• We’ve noticed several trends occurring in your industry lately. The two that stand
out the most are… How are these affecting you and your business?
• When I was doing some research, I noticed that your company is… What progress
are you making on that initiative?
They show that you have done your homework and executives appreciate that. Questions
like this also demonstrate that you know what is happening in business as well as a
particular industry.
Assuming you have captured your customer’s/prospect’s attention, you can move the
sales process forward by asking other questions that focus on a problem they may be
facing.
• What are the 3 biggest mistakes being made by…?
• What challenges or difficulties are you experiencing with…?
• What two problems are giving you the most grief or taking up most of your time?

2. Once you determine the key problems that your prospect/customer is dealing with, the
next step is to determine the impact of the problem. Drilling down… You can do that by
asking:
• What impact is that having on your business?
• What is this problem costing you in terms of (money, profit, market share,
customer loyalty, time to market, etc.)?
• What will happen if you don’t take action?
• How will that affect your company?
• How does that affect purchasing?
• How does that affect production?
• How does that affect You personally?
It is critical to understand that business people do not make buying decisions based on
your ability to spew out product specifications and information. Instead, they want to
know what result they can expect. In other words, your prospect/customer wants to know
how your solution will affect production, them and/or the bottom line.
Will it increase productivity? Will it reduce total costs? Will it reduce time and
paperwork? How will it be accepted by others in the company? Will it improve morale?
Will it save money? Will it make them look good?
That means you need to be prepared to ask questions that focus on the future too.
Consider these questions.
• What is the ideal outcome you would like to see or experience?
• How does this compare with your current results?
• You mentioned that you want to improve employee morale and/or reduce cost
with this initiative. Can you tell me what that looks like?
• You have stated that you want to reduce cost and increase productivity. How will
you know that you have succeeded?
You need to determine the priority of this decision, how the decision will be made, and
what potential roadblocks may prevent you from moving forward. Here are few
examples.
• How does this project rank in priority compared to the others you are working on?
• Walk me through the process you follow when you consider decisions of this
nature?
• Who else do you normally consult with on decisions like this?
• What potential roadblocks might prevent you from moving ahead with this?
• What concerns, if any, do you have about moving forward?
Prepare questions based on the person you’re meeting with…

3. Go down a level. Receiving, warehouse, production, administration, or accounting can
provide excellent information about our competitors and the problems they face on a
daily basis.
There are also questions that seek to find out information about our competitors.
• What are some of the qualities you look for in a vendor? Drill down…
• I’m sure you have a favorite vendor. What do you like best about them? Drill
down…
• If you could change one thing about your favorite vendor what would it be?
• How do you measure success with a vendor?
Take the time to plan what questions you will ask based on your research and/or past
communications. Pick three or four good questions and customize them to your specific
situation. Ask penetrating open ended questions. And in doing so, you will separate
yourself from your competition and increase your sales.
Questions for present customers to discover potential
• Do you have a preferred vendor/supplier list? (Are we on it?) Why/or why not?
• Are we a secondary or back up supplier? We appreciate it! Can I get your help
with some brainstorming? If we were to become your favored vendor please help
me understand how we got there. What types of things would you need to see and
hear from us?
• Do you have a list ranking your top suppliers?
• What number are we?
• If you were to write down your most important expectations of your number one
vendor what would that be? Please list as many as possible.
• Negative reverse. And you’re probably getting these today? If not…
• What do you want in order of priority?
Have a list of possible problems if they can’t answer.
1.
2.
3.
SWOT Analysis-Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
What does my company do to help the account?
• Grow its business?
• Increase its revenues?
• Decrease its expenses?
• Operate more efficiently or effectively?

4. What sort of relationship do we have with upper-level manager, Presidents, CFOs, COOs,
VPs, General Managers, Plant Managers, Production Managers, and Owners?
What sort of relationship do we have with the people who see how our competitors are
performing? (Receiving, production, purchasing, and accounting)
• Can it/should it be strengthened?
• Should I meet with others in the organization?
• How?
What do you know about the accounts? (See about finding out “What We Don’t Know”)
• Short and long-term goals and strategic plans?
• Competitive position in the market?
• Market share ownership for its product/service?
Identify Goals and Action Steps with timeline:
• Company: How can you help your client grow?
• People: How can you strengthen relationships with your customer’s people?
• Process: What can you do to improve the processes of doing business?
Ask myself:
• Are there people within my company who can provide technical, financial,
logistical, or other information that could help my customer improve their internal
systems and ultimately their bottom line?
• Can we change the manner of interaction with our customer to make it easier to
do business with my company?
• Are there people at my customer’s company with whom I should meet and
establish a relationship to strengthen the bond between the two companies?